Early life and career

Holden was born William Franklin Beedle Jr. in O’Fallon, Illinois, son of William Franklin Beedle (18911967), an industrial chemist, and his wife Mary Blanche Ball (18981990), a schoolteacher. He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle (1921January 1, 1944) and Richard P. Beedle (19241964). One of his father’s grandmothers, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England in 1817, while some of his mother’s ancestors settled in Virginia’s Lancaster County after emigrating from England in the 17th century. His younger brother, Robert W. “Bobbie” Beedle, became a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in World War II, over New Ireland, a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific, on January 5, 1944.

His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. A version of how he obtained his stage name “Holden” is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: “William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Not long ago he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed himin honor of his former spouse!”

Career

Holden’s first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. He was still an unknown actor at the time, while Stanwyck was already a film star. She liked Holden and went out of her way to help him succeed, devoting her personal time to coaching and encouraging him, which made them into lifelong friends. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: “I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish”.

Getting the part was a lucky break for Holden, as the role was initially cast with Montgomery Clift, who backed out of his contract. Swanson later said, “Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He was perfection on- and off-screen.” And Wilder himself commented, “Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. He was a genuine star. Every woman was in love with him.”

He co-starred as Humphrey Bogart‘s younger brother, a carefree playboy, in Sabrina (1954), played by Audrey Hepburn. It was Holden’s third film with director Billy Wilder. Holden and Hepburn became romantically involved during the filming, unbeknown to Wilder: “People on the set told me later that Bill and Audrey were having an affair, and everybody knew. Well, not everybody! I didn’t know.”:174 The interactions between Bogart, Hepburn, and Holden made shooting less than pleasant, however, as Bogart originally had wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall, to play Sabrina. While Bogart was, therefore, not especially friendly toward Hepburn, who had little Hollywood experience, Holden’s reaction was the opposite, writes biographer Michelangelo Capua.

Holden recalls their romance:

Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way.

Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, “I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn’t marry me.” Rumors at the time had it that Hepburn wanted a family, but when Holden told her that he’d had a vasectomy and having children was impossible, she moved on. A few months later, Hepburn met Mel Ferrer, whom she would later marry.

In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. His career peaked in 1957 with the enormous success of The Bridge on the River Kwai, but Holden spent the next several years starring in a number of films that rarely succeeded commercially or critically. By the mid-1960s, the quality of his roles and films had noticeably diminished. A heavy drinker most of his life, Holden descended into alcoholism in the 1960s and 1970s.

Later career

In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah‘s graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch, winning much acclaim. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young‘s family film L’Arbre de Nol, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry.

In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno, which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden’s career. Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet‘s classic Network (1976), an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. In 1980, Holden appeared in The Earthling with popular child actor Ricky Schroder, playing a loner dying of cancer who goes to the Australianoutback to end his days, meets a young boy whose parents have been killed in an accident, and teaches him how to survive.

During his last years, he appeared in his second Irwin Allen film, When Time Ran Out, a critical and commercial failure and heavily disliked by Holden himself. Blake Edwards‘ S.O.B., was more successful. In 1981, Holden was offered the role of Coach Daniel B. Delaney in That Championship Season. He became very depressed when filming was delayed, and drank even more heavily.

Personal life

Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to Nancy Davis in 1952; however, he never involved himself in politics.

While in Italy in 1966, Holden killed another driver in a drunk-driving incident. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter.

Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. His Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (founded 1959) became a mecca for the international jet set. On a trip to Africa, he fell in love with the wildlife and became increasingly concerned with the animal species that were beginning to decrease in population. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. The Mount Kenya Game Ranch works to assist in Kenya with the wildlife education of its youth. Within the Mount Kenya Game Ranch, is the Mount Kenya Conservancy which runs an animal orphanage as well as the Bongo Rehabilitation Program in collaboration with the Kenya Wildlife Service. The orphanage provides shelter and care for orphans, injured and neglected animals found in the wild, with the aim of releasing these animals back into the wild whenever possible. The conservancy is home to the critically endangered East African mountain bongo, and aims to prevent its extinction by breeding.

Marriage and relationships

Holden was married to actress Ardis Ankerson (stage name Brenda Marshall) from 1941 until their divorce 30 years later, in 1971. They had two sons, Peter Westfield “West” Holden and Scott Porter Holden. He adopted his wife’s daughter, Virginia, from her first marriage with actor Richard Gaines. During the filming of the film Sabrina (1954), costar Audrey Hepburn and he had a brief but passionate affair. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden’s alcoholism. Capucine and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981.

Death

According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s autopsy report, Holden was alone and intoxicated in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, when he slipped on a rug, severely lacerating his forehead on a teak bedside table, and bled to death. Evidence suggests he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. He likely may not have realized the severity of the injury and did not summon aid, or was unable to call for help. His body was found four days later. The causes of death were given as “exsanguination” and “blunt laceration of scalp”. Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden himself had denied at a 1980 press conference. His death certificate made no mention of any cancer. He had dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral or memorial service was held.

When Holden died, President Ronald Reagan released a statement, saying, “I have a great feeling of grief. We were close friends for many years. What do you say about a longtime friend – a sense of personal loss, a fine man. Our friendship never waned.”

For his contribution to the film industry, Holden has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1651 Vine Street. He also has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. His death was noted by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, whose 1987 song “Tom’s Diner” (about a sequence of events one morning in 1981) included a mention of reading a newspaper article about “an actor who had died while he was drinking”. Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden.